Sisters with Transistors

Name: Sisters with Transistors
Genre: Music, Documentary
Released: April 23, 2021
Duration: 86 min
Rating: 82
Cast: Bebe Barron, Clara Lockmore, Daphne Oram, Delia Derbyshire, Elaine Radigue

2021

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Universal acclaim based on 10 Critic Reviews

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Sisters with Transistors

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Movie Details & Credits

| Release Date (Streaming): April 23, 2021 | Not Rated

Starring: Bebe Barron, Clara Lockmore, Daphne Oram, Delia Derbyshire, Elaine Radigue, Laurie Anderson, Laurie Spiegel, Maryanne Amacher, Pauline Oliveros, Suzanne Ciani, Wendy Carlos

Summary: Narrated by legendary multimedia artist Laurie Anderson, Lisa Rovner’s Sisters with Transistors showcases the music of and rare interviews with female electronic pioneers Clara Rockmore, Delia Derbyshire, Daphne Oram, Éliane Radigue, Maryanne Amacher, Bebe Barron, Suzanne Ciani, Pauline Oliveros, Laurie Spiegel, and Wendy Carlos.. AsNarrated by legendary multimedia artist Laurie Anderson, Lisa Rovner’s Sisters with Transistors showcases the music of and rare interviews with female electronic pioneers Clara Rockmore, Delia Derbyshire, Daphne Oram, Éliane Radigue, Maryanne Amacher, Bebe Barron, Suzanne Ciani, Pauline Oliveros, Laurie Spiegel, and Wendy Carlos.. As Rovner’s documentary demonstrates, these women—many of whom were classically trained musicians, brilliant mathematicians, or a combination of both—relished the freedom of electronic music, even as they were discriminated against because of their gender and because of their chosen medium. (More often than not, these biases intersected: Ciani, who was asked to score 1981’s The Incredible Shrinking Woman—a vehicle for Lily Tomlin, written by Jane Wagner—by a female executive, had to wait nearly 20 years until another woman was in charge of a studio to get another such offer.) Through their inventiveness and rebellion, these trailblazers’ music went on to influence musicians working in a variety of genres, and proved the worthiness of going electric. Sisters with Transistors is an essential primer for those interested in discovering this vital, oft-overlooked history but also offers plenty of pleasures for crate-digging experimental music obsessives who know the BBC Radiophonic Workshop’s output like the back of their hand. Contemporary musicians, such as Holly Herndon and Kim Gordon, also offer insights into their forebears’ indelible music and their personal significance. [Metrograph Pictures]… Expand

Director: Lisa Rovner

Genre(s): Music, Documentary

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 86 min

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Critic Reviews

100

The Guardian Leslie Felperin

Apr 23, 2021

Lisa Rovner’s superb documentary pays a deeply deserved, seldom-expressed tribute to the female composers, musicians and inventors from the brief history of electronic music. Read full review

100

RogerEbert.com Charlie Brigden

Apr 23, 2021

The narrative, which is wonderfully told through a kind of archival collage that, along with the futuristic soundtrack of the profiled composers, makes it feel like an avant-garde art film. Read full review

Katie Walsh

Apr 29, 2021

The film is a vital historical corrective, inscribing the names of these women into history as the innovators, independent thinkers and trailblazers they were. Read full review

Tara Brady

Apr 23, 2021

There’s nary a dull moment – nor a dull character – in this gripping history. Read full review

John Anderson

Apr 23, 2021

That the film is online because of the Covid-19 pandemic might be considered a silver lining: Not only will more people be able to see it, but they can, and should, experience it through headphones. A big screen would be nice, too, given Ms. Rovner’s hallucinogenic way with pictures. But the sound, as she would probably agree, is paramount. Read full review

Wes Greene

Apr 26, 2021

Much of the film’s power comes from a series of deft, often wry juxtapositions between video and audio. Read full review

Glenn Kenny

Apr 22, 2021

This film is informative and often fascinating. Read full review

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